Aliens (CivBE)
In Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth you are out colonizing an alien planet, and very realistically, there are native alien lifeforms to deal with. Aliens add considerable realism to the game, and a fun additional challenge. What are the Aliens? Aliens are practically an additional, neutral faction in the game. They bear some similarities with Civilization V's Barbarians, in that they spawn constantly from fixed bases (called Nests), and could harass all colonies. However, everything else is different: *Alien units won't wander too far from their Nests (unless they're sea-based, in which case they will roam freely). *Aliens start as Neutral, not Hostile to all colonies. They won't attack unless they feel direct threat to themselves or their nest, or if they're consistently antagonized. *Aliens won't normally attack cities or tile improvements, again unless antagonized. The Siege worm is an exception, since even though he's not attacking, his mere movement through a tile wreaks havoc on all on-ground structures. *Aliens can't capture Civilian units, but they can attack and destroy them. Relations with aliens Unlike Barbarians (who were always Hostile to everybody), Aliens start Neutral to everybody. You can't 'negotiate' per se with them, because they don't seem to have conventional intelligence as we know it. However, Aliens across the planet seem to maintain some sort of connection, and they can react to long-term attitudes of a certain colony. For example, if you attack them consistently, Aliens will turn aggressive, and start attacking you in turn, instead of merely keeping to themselves. On the other hand, if you co-exist with them peacefully for prolonged periods of time, they may even turn Friendly. The icon of the aliens will change color as you interact with them. Originally it is green, it can turn blue, yellow, or red. It is unclear if it is a simply hostility meter, or if there is something more to it (since it uses exactly the same colors as the factions). Players pursuing the Harmony affinity are able to form a deeper bond with Aliens, and eventually produce special units which mix humans with aliens. Also, the Harmony victory (Transcendence) actually consists of your colony discovering and succeeding in making contact with the underlying planet-wide alien consciousness, thus achieving a real state of harmony with the environment. Alien nests Strategy There seems to be two viable strategies to deal with Aliens, and it is rather tied to your affinity choice. You can take a very militant stance towards the aliens, but you need to be aware that they will become highly aggressive towards you. If you provoke them enough, you will have to deal with siege worms before you are able to handle them. The aliens actually behave much more as an independent faction, and as such attacking any alien makes them all more hostile towards you, but also the other factions. So some diplomatic issues will arise from killing aliens. That being said the strategy can have huge benefits. Killing Aliens will provide your units with a treasure trove of experience, and once you have taken the Virtue Scavenging, you receive 100% of a defeated alien lifeform's strength as science points, and 60 science points from destroying an alien nest. It would be beneficial to pair this with the Purity affinity, as they have specific anti-alien bonuses. In addition all factions can, by researching Ecology, build the Ultra-sonic Fence, which prevents aliens from moving within 2 tiles of city. Another possibility is to be more harmonious with the aliens, killing them only when they're making trouble (for example by consistently raiding Trade routes), and only clearing out nests if it is absolutely imperative to expansion and resources acquisition. If you reach affinity level 1 in Harmony, aliens will de-agro at double rate. Another argument for being more passive is that, generally, the aliens will leave you alone if you don't kill them and do not move within 2 tiles of a nest. Additionally, allowing alien nests to persist while inside your borders without provocation will eventually lead to their icons going blue, and the aliens will become friendly, allowing the player to move around them without issue. This state of friendship will also link any Xenomass resources the aliens have under their nests without the need to improve it. While directly opposed to the Purity affinity, Harmony and Supremacy players will essentially gain a passive defense force if they pursue this, and the Harmony player will get access to vital resources they otherwise wouldn't have. Generally, Purity factions should pursue extermination, Harmony factions should pursue co-existence, and Supremacy factions should do what suits their situation. Alien species ::Note: These are natural alien species. For Designer Lifeforms see List of Harmony units (CivBE) Wolf beetle : : :Strength: 8 :Move: 2 :Swarm organism that constantly defends alien hives by patrolling around them closely. Carpets landscape in massed swarms when Alien aggression is ignited Raptor bug: : :Strength: 15 :Move: 3 :Targets unarmed units such as workers, while avoiding military ones. Siege worm: : :Strength: 60 :Move: 1 :Migrates between several destinations, destroying any infrastructure or units in the lands they pass through, extremely effective against cities. Does not become actively aggressive or specifically move through or towards human construction until the aliens are particularly pressed. Drones : : :Strength: 12 : Move: 4 Only known Alien unit capable of flight, similar capabilities to the wolf beetle, just more durable Manticore: : : Strength: 4 :Move: 1 :Ranged Strength: 12 :Chemical spewing "infantry" of the Alien Hive. Commonly found stationed within the hives themselves to attack targets that close in. Appears in greater numbers if Alien aggression is continued after the first wolf beetle swarms. Sea Dragon: : Move: 4 :Strength: 18 :The oceanic relative of the raptor bug. Much more voracious in the fact that it regards all naval vessels as possible prey. Kraken: : Strength: 70 :Move: 2 :Aquatic relative of the Siege-Worm, behaves similarly in all fashions. Will form "pods" similar to Earth-based cetaceans, making them deadly to take on even at the highest combat levels. References *Official Gameplay video *Well of Souls detailed overview of the game Category:Units Category:Civilization: Beyond Earth Category:Game concepts (CivBE) Category:Aliens (CivBE)